Democratic convention chaos! God and Jerusalem invited back into platform. But it was ugly (VIDEO)

Who said it’s rare to see chaos at a these hyper-choreographed national political conventions? But that’s just what happened Wednesday after conservatives nailed the Dems for changing their language on whether Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel.

The 2008 platform included this phrase: “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.” The 2012 edition? Bupkis.

And God was nowhere to be found in the platform. (Paging Nietzsche! Paging Nietzsche!) “God’s Appointed People Choir” performed Wednesday at the convention, but no God. God was quickly re-inserted after conservatives pointed out the omission. As GOP VP nominee Paul Ryan told Fox News it was “peculiar”: “It’s not in keeping with our founding documents, our founding vision.” (The Constitution and the Bill of Rights do not mention “God.”)

How do you amend the platform after it has passed? With a voice vote. Not very scientific. Watch LA Mayor/Convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa, uh, manage, the chaos. Do you think the “Aye’s” or the “Nay’s” won>:

On CNN Democratic strategist Paul Begala said it was “Beyond awkward. It’s embarrassing. It’s an unforced error by my party.”

When he learned of the absence of the word God from the platform, Obama reacted by saying, “Why on earth would that have been taken out?” three Democratic sources told CNN.

Said party platform chair, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: “I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story and informs the values we’ve expressed in our party’s platform. In addition, President Obama recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and our party’s platform should as well. ”

One person aghast at the chaos was former San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki, a Democratic strategist who chaired the Dems 2008 platform committee. The cardinal rules of party platforms, Yaki just told us:
1. Make sure the major interest groups of the party are happy.
2. Do no harm. As in, do not create bad press.

D’oh!

“When I first heard about this, I thought it was a printer’s error or something,” said Yaki, who serves on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. When he was platform chair, he reviewed platforms from 1992-2004 “and tried to hew close to the language.”

Messing with language with Jerusalem is a big no-no, Yaki said, “especially if you’re running competitive races in places like Florida.”

Set your stopwatch: There will be campaign ads made out of this chaos within hours.